Cloth or cloth-like tapes are useful in numerous applications. For example, cloth-like tapes are used in medical applications where they typically are adhered to skin. Most of the uses of cloth adhesive tapes in the medical market are for securing medical devices and light immobilization support. Some typical applications include securing endotracheal tubes, nasogastric tubes, and chest tubes, stabilizing body splints, and anchoring bulky wound dressings. Because these applications usually include contacting skin, one important desire for the tape is that the adhesive adhere in moist or oily environments. Other characteristics often desired in cloth-like adhesive tapes ("woven tapes") include a high tensile strength in the down and cross-web directions and ease of tearing by hand in both the down and cross-web directions along a substantially straight line without fraying. Cloth or cloth-like tapes are also used in industrial and commercial applications such as in duct tapes, strapping tapes, electrical tapes, general utility tapes and in abrasives to name a few.
Medical cloth tapes that are currently available are generally manufactured using a densely woven cotton or synthetic cloth. As the weave density of the cloth used to manufacture adhesive tape increases, the strength of the resulting tape typically increases for the same size fiber. Likewise, as the weave density of the cloth increases it is easier to hand tear the resulting tape in a straight line. Medical cloth-like tapes that are currently available typically comprise a woven cloth backing coated with a rubber based adhesive. Although the quality of the cloth varies, a dense weave cotton is commonly used which provides adequate strength and allows tearing along a straight line. Natural rubber based adhesives are usually solvent coated and/or calendered onto the backing and exhibit good adhesion to skin but can cause allergic reactions such as rashes. Several companies manufacture cloth-like adhesive tapes for medical uses. These tapes include Johnson & Johnson's Zonas Porous.RTM., Kendall's Curity Porous.RTM., and Beiersdorf's Leukotape.RTM.. Each of these tapes consist of densely woven cotton cloths completely coated or pattern coated with rubber based adhesives.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,352,463 to Wenzelberger et al. teaches interposing a flexible barrier sheet or baffle between the fabric and the adhesive to prevent the adhesive from substantially striking through the fabric of the tape. Wenzelberger et al. teach that this saves adhesive mass and avoids messy conditions as well as promoting the elasticity of the fabric without substantially increasing its weight. The Wenzelberger tape is prepared by knife spreading the elastic or pliable barrier sheet or film. The backing fabric of Wenzelberger may be a relatively closely woven material, a coarse woven material or any conventional flexible material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,843 to Bray discloses an adhesive tape which is manufactured by laminating at least one layer of heat activated adhesive film to one layer of a substrate material, and coating the thereby obtained laminate with a pressure sensitive adhesive. The film is specifically a random copolymer of ethylene and acrylic acid. The adhesive which is coated on the laminate cannot flow through the substrate, even if a porous substrate is used.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,853,598 to Raguse discloses an adhesive tape comprised of a high thread count woven synthetic fabric, an acrylic latex primer which is either solvent-based or water-based, and an adhesive coated on the primer side of the fabric. The primer bonds the warp and weft threads together to produce a single sheet of material which may easily be torn straight in either direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,616,146 to Gabet discloses preglued wall textiles which are comprised of woven or nonwoven fabric which has been made hydrophobic, a continuous impermeable plastic resinous film adhered to one face of the fabric to minimize stretch and fraying, and a layer of dry nontacky liquid-softenable adhesive coated on the exposed surface of the film.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,487,060 to Pike et al. discloses a barrier coat for adhesive sheets. The barrier coat is a synthetic rubber which provides a uniform surface to prevent penetration of the adhesive into the porous backing. The barrier coat is either coated from solvent or calendered onto the porous backing.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,415,276 to Buckley et al. discloses a flexible woven fabric backing with a layer of adhesive and an intermediate coating composed of suitable rubber compositions which when vulcanized serve to prevent the adhesive from passing into the fabric's interstices. The intermediate coating is either calendered onto the surface of the fabric or dispersed into a suitable solvent and then the solution is spread evenly on the surface of the fabric backing. The Buckley et al. specification teaches at column 2 lines 24-29 that while the intermediate film adheres to the surface of the fabric it does not enter the interstices of the fabric.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,187,563 to Thomas discloses an adhesive tape which is prepared by impregnating a woven fabric with wax-aluminum acetate-deacctylated chitin composition, drying, and thereafter anchoring on one side a rubber based pressure sensitive adhesive. U.S. Pat. No. 2,884,342 to Wolff teaches a pressure sensitive adhesive sheet material which is comprised of a fabric backing impregnated with a mixture of resinous materials and has a layer of adhesive material applied to one side. Impregnating results in woven fibers that are encased in a composition.
The art does not provide a tape which is both inexpensive to manufacture and exhibits the properties of a cloth-like adhesive tape. These properties include a feel of cloth, the ability to be torn in a straight line without exerting undue force and without excessive fraying ocurring.